28 July 2018, Saturday
After an uncomfortable, 11-hour bus ride from Hội An, I arrived Nha Trang at 5:05am. I didn’t sleep well on the bus at all. The sky was still dark and the streets were empty at this unearthly hour. Half-awake, I alighted from the bus in a daze and tried to get my bearings. With the help of Google Maps, I navigated myself to my accommodation, which was less than 10 minutes away on foot.
As part of my continued determination to keep my expenses as low as possible, I had booked a cheap hostel called My Homestay, located at 8/19 Nguyen Thien Thuat, Tan Lap. I found it through booking.com and it cost only VND 345,000 (S$20.70) for two nights in a mixed dormitory room. I booked it just four days ago while I was in Hanoi.
When I reached the place, I saw that it was a landed property in a quiet residential area. The gates to the house were closed and I didn’t think that any staff member would be awake at that hour. I wondered if I would wake all the occupants up if I pressed the bell, and hesitated. However, it was supposed to have “24-hour reception”, and I didn’t have any other options as everywhere else was closed, so I pressed the bell and waited. After a while, a groggy-looking young man clambered to the gate and let me in.
I told him that I had made a reservation and he proceeded to check my booking. Even though it was obviously way too early, I asked him if there was any chance I could get a bed right then because I was very tired. I was even willing to pay an additional night’s fee. He thought about it for a moment, then told me that I could get my bed at 6:00am at no extra charge. I offered to pay for the additional hours but he refused to accept it. I gratefully accepted his kindness and waited till 6:00am before I climbed into my assigned bed and slept.
It was almost 10:00am when I woke up again. The bed felt so good after spending a night on a cramped bus seat. I continued lazing in bed for a while longer until I finally dragged myself out of bed and headed out at 11:10am.
I was running out of Vietnamese Dong so the first thing I did was to go to a goldsmith shop nearby called Kim Chung to exchange currency. The peculiar thing about Vietnam is that there aren’t any conventional money exchange shops. You can only change your currency at goldsmith shops, and I suppose, at banks too.
I handed over US$100 cash and received a cool VND 2,335,000 in return. However, my status as a multi-millionaire was short-lived as I went back to My Homestay to pay up VND 345,000 (S$20.70) for my two nights’ stay. I also booked my bus to Ho Chi Minh City (in two days’ time) through My Homestay, and it cost me a further VND 210,000 (S$12.60). After my bad experience last night, I decided to book a day bus this time. After settling all those important admin issues, I was ready to explore Nha Trang, with my wallet considerably lighter.
Having missed breakfast, I was hungry so I went to look for food. I found a stall selling my favourite Bánh mì and cà phê sữa đá. The bill came up to only VND 30,000 (S$1.80). So affordable and yet so yummy. The iced coffee was especially shiok because of the scorching 33 degrees heat outside.
Being somewhere for the first time is always refreshing. I didn’t know much about Nha Trang as I didn’t do much research beforehand. By this point of the trip, I was living day by day and making plans as I went along. However, I did do a cursory search of the top attractions and bookmarked them in my Google Maps. Nha Trang is a coastal town and it is most famous for its white sand beach that stretches for six kilometres. So that was where I went first.
The beach was just a short distance away from My Homestay. As I walked towards the sea, I caught sight of a distinctive pink-coloured building shaped like a lotus flower. It is called Tháp Trầm Hương, or Agarwood Tower. It had several overlapping folds and it looked very unique indeed. Apparently, it is supposed to represent a burning incense stick, spreading its sweet scent to the whole city.
The beach was quite deserted when I arrived at 1:00pm, probably because it was just too hot to be sunbathing at the time. The sand was blindingly white and clean, and the sea was enticingly blue.
The further north I walked, I saw more signs of activity as big umbrellas and sun deck chairs laid upon the sand, catering to the sun worshippers. Coconut trees swayed gently in the light breeze, forming an idyllic picture of serenity.
It looked nice when you’re facing the sea, but in fact, right behind the beach was a busy main road with lots of cars, tall buildings and hotels. It was noisy and commercialised. It felt a bit like Surfers Paradise in Gold Coast, Australia, but without the legendary surf waves.
To escape the heat, I went to Nha Trang Center, the first modern shopping mall here, which opened in 2011. It was a small, four-storey mall but most importantly, it was air-conditioned. The shopping was not fantastic but it did have a cineplex. I was happy to see that Mission Impossible: Fallout was being screened so I quickly bought a ticket for the 8:15pm session. It cost VND 70,000 (S$4.20).
After that, I decided to go for a swim at Yet Kieu swimming pool, which was nearby. Pool admission was VND 30,000 (S$1.80) and I managed to clock in some laps before the rain started to fall. It was so hot for one moment and raining heavily the next, weird weather!
Next, I walked over to Chợ Đầm, or Dam Market. This three-storey building is Nha Trang’s largest and main market. It was quite stuffy inside, with the stalls cramped close together. Most of the stalls sold clothes, bags, shoes and other daily necessities. It was catered more to the locals than tourists, and reminded me of Dong Xuan Market in Hanoi.
At about 5:00pm, having run out of places to visit, I popped in to Highlands Coffee for a slice of chocolate cake and iced latte (VND 64,000 / S$3.84). I spent the time writing my journal while relaxing in the comfortable café, a good respite from the heat outside. I also did my research and booked my bus ticket from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh in three days’ time.
At 7:15pm, I walked around randomly to find a place for dinner and I came across a stall by the roadside, opposite The World Hotel. I paid VND 50,000 (S$3.00) for a bowl of pork pho and it was OMG, the best pho I’ve had so far. It came with huge chunks of tender meat and the broth was very tasty. Such a satisfying dinner!
I then walked back to Nha Trang Center to catch my movie. I really enjoyed Mission Impossible: Fallout, not least because its climatic scene featured Tom Cruise hanging off the edge of the cliff at Preikestolen, Norway. It brought back great memories of my hike there two months ago. It felt like a long time ago and only served as a reminder of how far I’ve come in my Grand Adventure. End of Day 89, one more day in Nha Trang tomorrow!